| Oregon State Bar Bulletin — DECEMBER 2007 |
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Friendly House Community Center recognized Lake Oswego attorney Murphy McGrew for her pro bono work on behalf of one of its clients who struggled to establish her citizenship and true identity. The client was born to migrant workers 21 years ago in Medford without an attending doctor, and her birth was never registered with the state. Over a period of 14 years, at least six other attorneys were unsuccessful in helping establish her rightful, legal identity. McGrew spent dozens of hours to bring this case to its successful conclusion.
Barran Liebman associate Andrew Schpak has been tapped for a two-year term on the ABA Labor and Employment Section’s Young Lawyers Division Fellowship Program as a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee. At Barran Liebman, Schpak represents management in employment litigation and provides advice in employment matters. He is the president-elect of the Multnomah Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.
Katherine Heekin, of The Heekin Law Firm, has earned the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. CFEs have the ability to: examine data and records to detect and trace fraudulent transactions; interview suspects to obtain information and confessions; write investigation reports, advise clients as to their findings and testify at trial; be well-versed in the law as it relates to fraud and fraud investigations; and understand the underlying factors that motivate individuals to commit fraud.
Bullivant Houser Bailey shareholder Stephen F. English was recently inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Membership in the academy is limited to 500 fellows from the United States. English is the director of Bullivant’s litigation department. He is also a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Anne Talcott, a shareholder in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, was recently appointed to the Defense Research Institute’s annual meeting and diversity steering committees. Talcott previously has held multiple national leadership positions within DRI, including national chair of the young lawyers committee and member of the drug and medical device steering committee. She is vice-chair of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt’s hiring committee and chair of the firm’s diversity committee.
Victor Hoffer has been awarded a community service medal by the Oregon Department of Human Services, Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Systems. Attorney General Hardy Myers and Deputy Attorney General Peter Shepherd nominated Hoffer based on his contributions to the public as a career emergency medical technician and for his efforts to enhance Oregon’s laws protecting the elderly and disabled. Hoffer serves as a member of the attorney general’s elder abuse task force. Hoffer graduated from Northwestern School of Law, has worked for Metro West Ambulance as an EMT since 1982, and is currently employed as a senior paramedic and field training officer.
Perkins Coie Portland partner Paul Fortino has been named to the board of regents of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is the regent for the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Fellowship in the college is extended by invitation only, after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and those whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years’ experience before they can be considered for fellowship.
Lane Powell shareholder Robert E. Maloney Jr., has been re-elected chairman of the board for the Oregon Independent College Foundation. The OICF is a nonprofit fundraising and programmatic partnership of Oregon’s 10 leading private colleges and universities, including Concordia University, George Fox University, Lewis & Clark College, Linfield College, Marylhurst University, Pacific University, Reed College, University of Portland, Warner Pacific University and Willamette University. Maloney has served pro tem as a Multnomah County circuit court judge, and is also a past president of the Federal Bar Association and the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel.
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna announced that Simon ffitch, division chief of the attorney general’s public counsel section, has been appointed to serve as a consumer representative on the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service. ffitch was nominated for the position by the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, and the appointment was confirmed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin. The board serves in an advisory capacity to assist the FCC with implementing the universal service provisions and policies of the federal act. ffitch will continue to serve as the chief of the Public Counsel office during his appointment.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski reappointed Lane Powell shareholder Steven B. Ungar as chair of the Oregon Lottery Commission, effective Oct. 2, 2007. Ungar is chair of Lane Powell’s white-collar criminal defense and regulatory compliance practice. He is also a member of Lane Powell’s long-term care and senior housing industry team.